


Returning Home

by strange_nut_pirate



Series: OTP Prompt Oneshots [5]
Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Jiper, LOTS of comforting, Searching for Leo, Supportive Jason, feeling hopeless, insecure piper, kinda angsty, very in awe of each other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:06:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23293708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strange_nut_pirate/pseuds/strange_nut_pirate
Summary: Piper and Jason have been looking for Leo ever since he disappeared, but they’ve found nothing so far. After being attacked by monsters, and only narrowly escaping, Piper has never felt more hopeless.— Takes Place a little after BoO
Relationships: Jason Grace/Piper McLean
Series: OTP Prompt Oneshots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657651
Kudos: 7





	Returning Home

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t care if Uncle Rick shat on this ship as much as Hera did, I still ship it! 
> 
> Besides that, my inspiration for this prompt/oneshot was wanting to explore the ‘search for Leo’ more. It was mentioned that Piper and Jason searched all over for him, but it never really went in-depth about it, and I think that they must’ve felt really powerless and hopeless, and sad whilst they were looking for him. And the only people who really knew what they were going through were each other (since the rest of the seven weren’t as close with him).
> 
> Anyways, yeah! So that’s the idea I wanted to experiment with a bit. I hope you enjoy! 💗💙💗💙
> 
> Prompt source: https://drink-it-write-it.tumblr.com/post/189074732022/200-prompts

**“You'll catch me, right?!”**

**“Always!”** He yelled back.

Piper took a deep breath and leapt, hearing explosions ringing out from behind her. She could hear the screeches from the monsters inside, injured, but not fully dead, thanks to the lack of celestial bronze. But right now, Piper didn't care about defeating them. She just wanted to get out of there.

Jason had been at the bottom of the cliff, battling his own swarm, and unlike her, he actually killed them. Now, he was bending the winds, and coming up to meet her in the air. He wrapped his arms firmly around her, and together they landed gently on the ground.

“Nice catch,” Piper appreciated, trying for a smile, but she knew it had fallen flat. She felt like serious shit at the moment.

Before he could say anything, another howl from a dracaena pierced the air.

“I didn't kill all of them,” Piper said, her cheeks blushing in embarrassment. “They’re still in the warehouse.” She'd always been weak, and pretty pathetic, but she hated for others to see it too. 

“I think we should go,” Jason said. “There's nothing here, anyway.”

Piper nodded, and felt a deep wave of sadness come over her as Jason took her hand in his and they sped off together into the shelter of the trees, and only when they couldn't run any longer, they stopped. They were in the middle of nowhere, with nothing but two backpacks, some snacks, and ambrosia and nectar, though they were starting to run low on that too. They had meagre money, and the whole purpose of this journey seemed to be pointless. But neither of them wanted to go back. Neither of them wanted to give up.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked, as they sat down together. 

“I'm not hurt,” Piper replied.

“That's not what I meant.”

Her throat tightened, and she could feel the lump in it, but she swallowed, determined not to have a breakdown. She was already horribly weak with the monsters, and made them have to flee for their lives because she failed to charmspeak some standard dracaenas at some abandoned workshop, so she would _not_ start crying like a stupid cliche. 

“Piper.”

She looked at him then, his perfect face lined with the light from the moon, his blond hair dirty from the weeks of fighting and searching, his electric blue eyes, still sending shocks through her body. She shivered. Even though Jason was gorgeous, she knew she probably looked like a monster herself.

“Yes?” She said, her voice small. She shifted her gaze from Jason. She couldn't bear to look at him look at her right now.

“We'll find him.”

 _Will we?_ And she hated herself immensely for thinking that, but she couldn't help it. They’d been searching for Leo for weeks, and there had been absolutely no trace of him. No body. No piece of evidence. And no answers. Not even any metal scraps from Festus. Nothing. 

She could still feel Jason’s eyes on her, but she kept quiet and didn’t meet them. Everything was too much already, and looking at Jason now would just make her come undone.

She felt his arm snake around her, and he pulled her tightly to him. She should’ve felt suffocated by this sudden force, but instead, she wanted to bury herself in his embrace. She pressed herself to him, trying to absorb his warmth, his strength, just _him._

“Piper,” Jason started, his voice wavering. “I think… I think maybe we should head back to camp soon.”

Her eyes snapped open and she turned a sharp gaze at Jason, shaken very quickly out of her lovesick stupor. She shrunk away from him, unintentionally. Jason seemed to notice, and was quick to make amends.

“This is not us giving up,” he reassured her. “It’s _not._ But look at us, Pipes. We’re beaten and hungry and broke and we need more supplies. And rest. We need to stop for a bit. Take a breather. Leo is still out there. Remember when we questioned Hazel and Nico about it? Remember what they said?”

She swallowed and nodded.

“There’s something off about Leo’s disappearance, right? He’s not dead.”

Jason cupped her face, and when she met his eyes again, they were so soft. Piercing, as always, but so, _so_ kind. Kinder then they had any right to be. And he was looking at her like she was the most admiring, beautiful thing he had ever seen, even though she looked like a damn mess right now. It made her come undone. She felt like crying. 

“I’m so tired,” she managed, before breaking down. She crawled back to him, and he held her again. “And I feel so pathetic, Jason. I thought I was past that, so what’s wrong with me?”

“Nothing,” Jason said, the certainty of it making her feel more. She wasn’t sure if it was worse or better, just _more. ___

__“Piper, you are the strongest person I have ever met,” Jason continued, and she just had to look at him. “And I’m not just talking about your powers. I’m talking about _you._ And I’m talking as one of your best friends. You have never been anything other than strong and powerful, and you put me in constant awe of you, even if you are not doing anything. You’ve changed so much over the time since I’ve known you, and I’m so grateful to be there to witness it. You’ve always had this inner boldness within you, that you’re never aware of. Remember how you always tried to make yourself invisible when we first met? And how people just _couldn’t_ ignore you, including me? It’s because you outshine everyone around you, Pipes. Including your famous dad, including your goddess mother, including Drew Tanaka. People may see me as an untouchable leader, or a warrior that was raised by wolves or whatever, but I will always follow _you_. No matter what happens, whether anything happens to the two of us, I will always follow you. And I will always see you as my hero.”_ _

__She had stopped crying now._ _

__He stole her breath away with how stunning he looked in that moment. Roughed up from getting beaten and bruised from the dracaenas, a swollen lip, a shallow cut near his cheek, dirt smudged in his hair and on his face. But he was so, _so_ beautiful, if she didn’t know better, she would’ve thought _he_ was the child of Aphrodite. And Piper wondered if he was looking at her the same way. If he thought she was as gorgeous as she thought him._ _

__She smiled, and kissed him on the mouth._ _

__It lingered for a little, all soothed and contented sighs from both of them, the feeling of home and safety washing over them and making them forget about everything that they had been through for just one breathless second._ _

__They broke apart._ _

__“Let’s rest first,” Piper said, resting her forehead against his and closing her eyes. “We can leave first thing tomorrow.”_ _

__“Okay, I’ll take the first watch.”_ _

__“Are you sure?”_ _

__“Yeah.”_ _

__She laid herself down, resting her head on his lap, and was vaguely aware of Jason stroking her hair lovingly. She was so tired, it was hard to stay up. And Jason was caressing her so rhythmically, and it was so peaceful out in the woods, she took every second of tranquility she could get._ _

__The last thing she remembered was Jason’s handsome features, outlined by the moonlight, looking out into the world beyond. She loved him. So much. She wanted to tell him. But she was drifting away… away…_ _

__She was at ease._ _


End file.
